Humanities Research Center at VCU

10/01/2026

The October HRC newsletter is out!

There’s a lot happening this month—from conversations on Indigenous data sovereignty and tribal engagement to our Repair Speaker Series, Meet VCU Authors, and events across campus and the Richmond community. We hope you’ll take a look, join us for a conversation, and bring a student, a friend, or a community member along.

📖 Read the October newsletter: https://us5.campaign-archive.com/?e=__test_email__&u=614dd2c462adf19be28c29a2f&id=361954ec17

09/25/2026

09/25/2026

📚 Student-led Book club
📍 Today, 4:00–5:30 PM

This afternoon, students in the Indigenous Humanities Lab at the VCU Humanities Research Center are kicking off a new book club, starting with Ned Blackhawk's "The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History," winner of the 2023 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

🎟️ A few free copies of the book are available for anyone who'd like to join
If you're on campus and interested in Native and Indigenous history, come pull up a chair — all are welcome.

VCU College of Humanities and Sciences VCU Department of History VCU Alumni Virginia Commonwealth University

09/17/2026

Last week, during our Humanities Week, Gregg D. Kimball, the new HRC Community Fellow, led a wonderful tour of the Institute for our faculty, staff, and community members. We were very happy to have Dr. Denise Walters, our current Karenne Wood Native Artist in Residence at the HRC, join for the tour. Thank you to the Institute for this collaboration and to our colleagues and friends form the community for joining us!

09/17/2026

TOMORROW! 📣 Join us for an event in our Repair Speaker Series, featuring Lyndon Harris, forgiveness teacher and author of "Forgiveness at Ground Zero: A Journey of Service, Loss and Redemption After 9/11," in conversation with Jim Somerville, Ph.D., Senior Pastor of Richmond’s First Baptist Church.

📅 September 18, 2026, 12pm-1pm
📍 Online (zoom)
🔗 Register here: https://bit.ly/repair0918

09/11/2026

We are excited to share a new partnership between the Humanities Research Center at VCU and the VCU Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation: the new Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (AHSS) Grants Academy. Applications are due September 15, 2026. Please share with colleagues who might be interested!

Running October 2026–May 2027, the Academy is designed to support faculty across the arts, humanities, and social sciences as they develop stronger strategies and pipelines for external funding.

Learn more and apply here: https://humanitiescenter.vcu.edu/opportunities/ahss-grants-academy/

VCU College of Humanities and Sciences VCUarts VCU School of Education L. Douglas Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs VCU School of Social Work

09/10/2026

This Monday! 📣 Join us for a Meet VCU Authors talk with Rachel Gómez, Assistant Professor of Foundations of Education in the School of Education at VCU, and Julio Cammarota, Professor of Education at the University of Arizona, co-authors of Racial Reconciliation and the Third Reconstruction: A New Racial Justice Model.”

📅 September 14, 2026, 12pm-1pm
📍 Online (zoom)
🔗 Register here: https://bit.ly/mva0914

09/04/2026

Join us for a Humanities Week keynote event with Blair LM Kelley, President and Director of the National Humanities Center, in celebration of her newly published book, "Black Freedom: A Visual History of Juneteenth and Emancipation Days."

During this event, Blair LM Kelley will discuss how Black communities have created counter histories through traditions of commemorations and celebration. Using emancipation celebrations as a lens, she considered how remembrance became acts of renewal and repair, shaping how communities understand the past, create pathways for survival in the future, and crucial models for our present challenges.

Following this event, Kelley will sign copies of her book, sold by the Virginia Shop at the Library of Virginia.

📅 Thursday, Sept. 10, 6:00-8:00pm
📍 Library of Virginia (800 E Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23219)
🔗 Register here: https://forms.gle/3d5os6rAarFZFtMD7/

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU College of Humanities and Sciences Library of Virginia

09/04/2026

Join us for our first Humanities Week keynote event with Maria Sachiko Cecire, program officer for Higher Learning at the Mellon Foundation!

In a time of overlapping anxieties about AI, climate, inequality, and other crises, the humanities are uniquely positioned to help us understand who we are, the futures we want, and how to get there. Drawing on her experience as a funder at a leading national philanthropy and her background as a scholar of popular culture, fantasy, and media, Prof. Cecire will discuss the reparative and creative potential of the humanities for individuals, institutions, and societies.

Following Dr. Cecire's talk will be a reception at the Scott House! More details on our website.

📅 Tuesday, Sept. 8, 4:00-6:00pm
📍 Cabell Library, room 303 (901 Park Ave, Richmond, VA 23284)
🔗 Register now: https://forms.gle/9jnXxf98qink9QGq8/

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU College of Humanities and Sciences